Independently Produced Events, Content and Workshops

Laugh.pl is dedicated to promoting local talent. Welcome to the second installment of our “Spotlight Series” where we profile local comedians and tell their stories. To see these and other up-and-coming comics in action, join us at our monthly “Comedy Open Mic”, the first Wednesday of every month at Świetlica, 17 Marszałkowska in Warsaw.Like us on facebook for more information!

In a post-Trump world, Damian Skóra might be the hero we all need.

Based in Krakow, Damian Skóra is a natural performer. He’s has been centre-stage for more than 10 years. He’s currently involved in 4 and a half musical projects (mainly The Magic Juice and Director’s Cat), which is where he used to try his best to work in comedy. Last year, he took the plunge into standup and hasn’t looked back, performing regularly in both the English and Polish comedy scenes in Krakow.

In his private life, he’s known for his cheap and cheesy jokes. He’s rarely serious and always cracking jokes to those around him. “I want to make people laugh,” he says. Skóra finished his studies in science and has since been paying the bills with his musical career. An artist through and through, he needed another creative outlet where it didn’t matter if he failed or succeeded.

Photo: Aleksander Fedorowicz

“My best performance was at my standup first show, actually,” he chuckles. Since then he’s found the most difficult thing about standup to be selecting which jokes to include in his set. “It’s like telling one of your children that they can’t go on a trip with the rest of the family,” Skóra notes, highlighting his vast collection of material as a point of stress rather than a comfort.

Well-versed in all things comic, Skóra biggest influences are Louis CK, Bill Burr and Seth MacFarlane. He’s also got what seems to be a love/hate relationship with Andrew Dice Clay, a comic whose work Skóra found particularly inspiring during a recent ‘dark period’. “You know when something is so disgusting that your brain forces you to watch it? I was watching him every day. Some of my best jokes were created during this dark period. He showed that you can say the worst stuff and it’s still appreciated.” In terms of Polish comedians, Skóra cites the crowd work skills of

Photo: Aleksander Fedorowicz

Michał Leja as particularly inspirational. With Leja, Skóra says, “he can make a whole great show just from having a conversation with the audience, and reacting quickly to situations. It’s like jazz musicians – with enough practice anyone can write music (or jokes) but the improvising is the part that makes someone a special performer.”

Skóra’s comedy is honest, straightforward and delightfully abstract. As a man who loves the sound of foreign languages and seems to find music in everything, he “just wants to make people laugh”. He’ll be performing as a special guest at the upcoming Open Mic Comedy Show on February 1st, 2017. Come by Świetlica at Marszałkowska 17 8pm, to see Damian Skóra make you laugh!